scroll down to see Nicole R. Smith in action

he Heritage Project: The Afro-Latinx Music Experience  The Arsht Center’s Miami Diaspora Fund exists to commission and present transformative performing-arts works by artists of color who have been historically underrepresented on America's performing-arts stages.  Discussions to end systemic racism and promote social equality for all are crucial to the positive advancement of our communities. The Arsht Center is committed to listen, learn and do more to stop racism and injustice.   Our commitment to uplift Black voices has led to the creation of The Heritage Project, an online artistic salon series. This free, six-part series will capture the spirit of a Harlem Renaissance salon, where Black leaders, intellectuals, activists, artists, educators and business owners come together to discuss matters impacting the Black community.   Our online artistic salon series continues with The Afro-Latinx Music Experience, a discussion about the African influences on Latin music and cultures. Afro-Latinx musicians will share their experiences as Black members of the music industry.  Discussion Panelists: Aymée Nuviola: Grammy and Latin Grammy Award-winning performing artist Nestor Torres: Latin Grammy Award-winning flutist Omilani Alarcón: Visual and performing artist, poet, scholar, and award-winning director of the documentary LATINEGRAS  Moderated By: Deborah Magdalena: Community ambassador, performance artist, cultural curator

The second season of our Heritage Project series kicks off with The Afro-LatinX Music Experience Parte Dos. Part 1 of the discussion took place during our inaugural season, and the conversation will continue in October with Parte Dos, an exploration into the evolution of Afro-LatinX music from the 1990s through today. This talk will unpack the challenges of navigating the Afro-LatinX experience within the music industry while spotlighting salsa, reggaeton and hip-hop.  The Heritage Project’s free artistic salon series was created to promote social equality and amplify Black voices. The salon series captures the spirit of a Harlem Renaissance salon where Black leaders, intellectuals, activists, artists, educators and business owners would come together to discuss matters impacting the Black community.